Last Weekend: Augustów, Poland and Lithuania?!

So for my final weekend in Europe (July 19-20), I went on a trip with my friend Agnieszka, my aunt, and my aunt’s friend to Augustów. It’s a really nice town in Poland, and a lot of Polish people go there on vacation! It’s a nice town with a lot of lakes! But, before we got to really explore the city, Agnieszka and I went on a day trip to Lithuania!

From Augustów, there are buses that leave for day trips to Lithuania all the time, so we booked a spot and got to explore another country! The bus took us to two different cities, Troki (Trakai) and Wilno (Vilnius). The bus ride started early in the morning (around 6am) and we got back to Poland around (8pm). It was a busy day, but I was glad that we got to explore a new place!

Lithuanian moneyyyy

 The first stop was Trakai and there we mainly stopped by to tour this castle called the Trakai Island Castle. It was a pretty castle with a lot of history! There were so many different tour groups from all over so it got kind of crowded, especially when we had to pass each other on the stairs!

Crossing the bridge to get to the castle!

There were a lot of people there- even a group of US soldiers!

pretty castle

So many stairs!

Hanging out at the castle!

The water surrounding the castle was so blue!!

After that stop, we got back on the bus and headed to Vilnius! First stop there was this famous cemetery called the Rasos Cemetery. There are a lot of polish soldiers buried there as well as the heart of Józef Piłsudski (important political figure in Poland).

Heart of Józef Piłsudski buried with his mother's grave (and the lady in white and red was our tour guide!)

This was my favorite sculpture at the cemetery.

So many graves...

After a short stop at the cemetery, we got back on the bus and then followed our quick guide around the city! But really, she was so fast, taking us from place to place… but I guess there was a lot to see and not a lot of time! 

We saw a lot of really nice churches, and one in particular was especially beautiful. There were sculptures carved into the entire inside of the church, and there was so much detail!

Such a beautiful church! There were so many weddings taking place in all of these beautiful churches.

We continued to walk around, and then had an hour away from the group to find lunch. We found a nice little restaurant where we had potato pancakes and a yummy salad. Our server was Lithuanian, but she also spoke English and Polish, so it was easy to order.

potato pancakes (I am familiar with these because they are a popular polish dish as well)

Such a pretty chicken salad!

After lunch we went to see Adam Mickiewicz’s house. He was a famous Polish poet. 

Adam Mickiewicz's house- in the top right you see a balcony type thing, this was actually a hallway between rooms! To save money on heating, they built hallways (open to the outside). Then, they wouldn't have to heat that extra space in the winter.

Here is his desk and chair where he wrote his poetry.

The rest of the tour consisted of many more churches and famous paintings.

Another cool church

This is the original of this painting and it is located in a small chapel where Polish masses are held!

Agnieszka and I with our tour group

Another pretty church!

Original of another famous painting: Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn

She overlooks the town!

Seeing the Ostra Brama (Gate of Dawn) was the last thing we did in Vilnius. Then we got back on the bus and made one more stop at a Lithuanian store where we spent the rest of our Lithuanian money on chocolate, tea, etc. 

We got back to Augustow around 8pm and then walked around the city. It was such a nice night!

We stayed at a hostel near a lake!

We spent Sunday in Augustow. After going to mass, we spent the rest of the morning at a market :). There we were able to get some souvenirs! Then, we spent the afternoon at visiting a site that was created in honor of John Paul II. After that short visit, we returned to the market, bought lots of polish tea (there was a sale) and we had ice cream. We then made it back to the car and drove back to Białystok. 

Church where we went to mass in the morning!

At the main market in Augustów!

At the market in Augustów!

My lovely aunt and I

Pope John Paul II statue

I had a really great time with Agnieszka, my aunt, and her friend! I am really thankful to have gotten to explore a new city in Poland as well as a couple cities in Lithuania!

So sad that my trip is almost over,

Magdalena

Hangin' in Białystok

So after my Warsaw adventure, I returned to Białystok for a while. There I met up with more family that I hadn’t seen in forever! Mostly, I hung out with my cousin, Artur, and his cousin, Marcin. Here are some highlights from my time spent there!

I helped my aunt make a babka ziemniaczana for dinner which is a baked dish made from grated potatoes and bits of bacon and onion. It is really yummy!

delicious babka ziemniaczana :)

I spent a day with another aunt visiting a castle and jewish synagogue. At the end of the day, I got to play with my aunt’s adorable kittens!

Synagogue

Castle 

Kittens!!

I went out for pizza with Agnieszka one day! It was soo good! It was called the American pizza 

Awesome pizza from Savona 

Picked fresh fruit and my favorite: pożeczki! I also took pictures of lots of pretty flowers!

fresh picked pożeczki!

flowers from my aunt's garden

flowers from my aunt's garden

 My family took me to the museum Wsi where we went on a nice walk.

Cool carvings at the museum

I went to Swięta Woda with Agnieszka and my aunt for the afternoon. It’s a sanctuary where a lot of people come on pilgrimages. There is a hill with a lot of crosses as well as a holy water spring.

Crosses on crosses on crosses... 

Agnieszka and I

Holy water

I bought some delicious desserts at the bakery. Then, later that day, I went on a 18 mile bike ride with Marcin and Artur. I am gonna miss days like this!

polish donut, ptyś, and eclair 

Marcin and I 

Artur and I with our bikes

Żaneta and I took yet another walk through the city.

Enjoying exploring my beautiful hometown :)

Happy to be in Białystok :)

Sad to be leaving soon :(

Warsaw Trip

So Monday and Tuesday I spent in Białystok. On Monday, I had a friend, Agnieszka, over for cake and tea which was fun!

Polish sweets :)

On Tuesday, I spent the day with Żaneta and we hung out in Białystok. We did some shopping in town, had kebabs for lunch, and then visited her friend and cousins. At her cousins’ place we played some more WiiU and then this cool board game called Carcassonne where you had to build kingdoms, roads, etc. and fight for them. 

Beautiful day in Białystok

On Wednesday (June 25th), we took a bus to Warsaw together and I stayed in Warsaw until Sunday. Warsaw is a really cool city and there is a lot to do and see!

Thursday, we started off at the park Ujazdowski, then headed into the center of town. There, we saw lollipops being made before our eyes, walked by where the president works and lives, then went to meet another cousin in the old town.

Uzjazdowski park

Standing on the sun! Here in front of the Copernicus Statue are all of the planets orbiting around the sun

"White House" in Warsaw

Warsaw- On the left is the Kolumna Zygmunta, which people commonly use as a meeting place  

Under the Kolumna Zygmunta, there happens to be a free walking tour that begins here (every day at noon and 6pm). After finding our cousin, Piotrek, we decided to tag along with the tour group for a while. The guide was very knowledgeable and easy to understand. He gave the tour in English, but he was definitely a polish guy. He told us a lot of fun facts that really made this tour interesting!

Marie Curie's house. Fun Facts from the Tour Guide: Marie Curie was the first woman to get a Nobel Prize twice (in Chemistry and Physics) and her husband also received a Nobel Prize, and on top of that, her daughter and her daughter's husband received a noble prize. Her second daughter was the black sheep of the family (no Nobel Prize), but she married someone who received a Nobel Prize. Imagine the level of conversation at the dinner table when the family got together, lol. 

As we were walking through town, he would point out significant streets and buildings. Then, we went to grab some lunch at the oldest milk bar in Warsaw, where the Dalai Lama even ate at once. 

Next, I went to the Wilanów Pałac, then got some delicious hot chocolate and szarlotka (polish apple pie), and ended the day in Konstancin- where there is a healing place where people come to breathe in special salty air. 

Wilanów Palace

Konstancin

On Friday, we went to see the national stadium in Warsaw. It was built for the Euro2012 and now is used for more than just soccer games. In the woods next to the stadium, we found a lot of hammocks which was pretty cool! We ended up chilling there for a while.

At the national stadium

Hammock forest

We walked along the Wisła to another park, where we found even more hammocks! Then from there, we went to one of the biggest parks called Łazienki Park. In this park there are peacocks who just roam the park and squirrels who are not afraid to come up and take food from your hand! I had so much fun feeding the peacocks and the squirrels! :)

Feeding a peacock!

Feeding polish squirrels

Afterwards, we went to Piotr’s house for dinner and later we went for some ice cream.

On Saturday, I went to Copernicus Science Center with Żaneta and Paweł which was really fun! This museum has all sorts of interactive displays.

Just relaxing on a bed of nails

In a giant bubble!

In the evening, I met up with some more family from Warsaw. It was nice to reconnect and hang out with family that I haven’t seen in forever!

On Sunday, after mass, I took a bus back to Białystok.

In front of the Pałac Kultury waiting for my bus

Back in the hometown,

Magdalena